A new type of malware.

TrendLabs has reported the Pixsteal-A-Trojan. It’s a new type of malware which targets image files to expose those infected to identity theft, blackmail and fraud.

This Trojan finds image files on your drives and transfers these images to a remote server. The affected file types are .jpg, .jpeg and .dmp (dmp's are created by computer or program crashes). While AutoCAD files have been targeted in the past by industrial espionage spyware, most Trojans concentrate on text and document files. However, users store sensitive information in image files, so they have become a target as well.

So who cares if a bunch of .jpegs are transferred? You might, if you take screenshots of receipts or are going paperless, or if you scan personal records or patient records onto your personal or office computer. Some of those might be very sensitive, like tax records, lab reports, etc.

The Pixsteal Trojan is spyware. The victim is infected via the internet by downloading contaminated software or files, or by other malware on the user’s system. Conceivably, the route of infection might even be via email. While email and steganography weren’t specifically mentioned, I see no reason they couldn’t be used to disseminate this Trojan. So beware .jpegs, etc. which appear exceptionally large. Once on the machine, the trojan seeks out images on all the drives of that computer, copies them to a central location on the C: drive, connects to the remote FTP server and transfers the files.

There might also be images (like those young folks take) which could prove quite embarrassing if they fall into the wrong hands (ask Prince Harry if you don’t believe me). Apparently, some 88% do get harvested and sold to/on parasite sites. Apparently, sifting the harvesting can be quite tedious, but is quite productive.

So… be aware. Be safe in your Internet habits, and keep your security software updated folks.

Sources:

http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/none/304678-image-stealing-trojan-exposes-victims-to-id-theft-blackmail

http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/malware-steals-image-files-from-systems/

http://about-threats.trendmicro.com/us/malware/TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A